The article deals with the importance of teaching literature at all stages of education, since it helps students understand better national culture and traditions of other countries the language of which they study. Several tools for upgrading students’ speaking and writing skills are presented.

One of the characteristic features of modern society is to understand the relationship of the processes occurring in different parts of the globe. Mankind is still divided along national and territorial basis; thus it is important to make it sure that the number of problems it faces can be resolved only by joint efforts, only with the active participation of its constituent individuals. This process is reflected not only in the speeches of politicians and public figures, but also in fiction.

The study of literature is not enough just to know and understand other people, their history, culture and traditions. Clearly, it is necessary to examine and study the artistic heritage of writers and poets, artists and musicians of this country and only then can we come closer to understanding the formation and development of certain people.

Creation of many writers is a measure of the spiritual strength of the people, its moral health and creativity. That is why the study of the literature of different countries – the task is extremely important and urgent. Identity, the ancient culture of the world has long been universally recognized, and the best traditions have a positive influence on the culture of the peoples of East and West. To the knowledge of the nature of this influence is essential the knowledge of root crops such regularities in the formation of their traditions and stages of their development.

Cultural heritage of East and West was compared during the entire development of mankind. Questions like how and where this or that has been developed – created – existed previously in the East or the West have always been a subject of discussion and controversy. Literature was no exception at all. Thanks to many basic researches of world literature it became apparent that the way of the East and the West in any sphere of human activity constantly intersects and culture is constantly interacted and enriched,

The most important task of our time is the emergence of a new ideology, corresponding to the interests of our society. In this context, a particular relevance is the scientific basis and informing the general public about the culture and literature of other nations. Wonderful fruits bring cooperation in education, science and culture. Therefore, now a huge role is assigned to research development of foreign literature trends, to better understand and learn the views and positions, moral and ethical relationship between people in the community abroad. The intensity of time and the development of society can be determined by the way the intellectuals – scientists, diplomats, sociologists and writers – react to those or other manifestations of modern life.

Literature, according to most scholars, is the «mirror» of society. Studying literature, you cannot but help get a deep knowledge about the people, their culture, distinctive customs, as most writers tend to reveal the attitude of their characters to the moral values, show affection or alienation, isolation in their inner world, or openness and compassion, etc. Writing about literature ought to be easier than writing about anything else. When you write about painting, for example, you have to translate shapes and colors and textures into words. When you write about music, you have to translate various aspects and combinations of sounds into words. When you write about complex, mysterious, fleeting things called “reality” of “life”, you have an even more difficult task. Worst of all, perhaps, is trying to put into words everything that is going on at any given moment inside your particular and unique self. So you ought to be relieved to know that you are going to write about literature which you cannot do without words. Thus, writing about literature or speaking on different subjects, using good words, will not be easy if you haven’t learned to read literature. It is obvious that in order to write about anything you have to know that something rather well.

I assume that it is teachers’ main goal to help students to learn to read literature in order to obtain a variety of language skills – writing with a good working vocabulary, a sense of ordering their ideas in writing and speaking, including how to link one idea or statement to another, of what to put in and what to leave out. Writing and speaking are not finite or definite skills or art. Students, at the initial stage of education at any level of foreign languages educational establishments, never really know how to speak and write properly using a foreign language. They just start learning how to do it a little better going from one stage of education to another. It’s like gaining maturity – with each stage they are getting better, improving their skills, given that they have experienced “drivers-teachers”.

One of the fruitful methods of training is copying literary texts which should be used by students at home independently. It is a good exercise for teaching them accuracy and attention to details, discover the things about the text they are copying that they would be unlikely to notice otherwise. Early in a literature course, particularly, copying can serve as a useful step in the direction of learning how to read and write about literature and other scientific papers. Later, being able to copy a passage accurately will help students when they want to quote a passage to illustrate or prove a point they are making. Another tool to improve students’ skills is reading aloud. It is a variation of copying, may be a more original and interpretive exercise than copying itself, since by tone, emphasis, and pace they are clarifying the text or indicating the way they understand the text. But it is still not an independent writing skill. Some students will not be satisfied with merely repeating someone else’s words. Acquiring experience they will have their own perceptions, responses, and ideas that they will want to express for themselves and others about what they are reading. And having something to say, and wanting to say or write it, is the first and most significant step in learning to speak and write about literature.

One more practical exercise to upgrade students’ skills in speaking and writing with the help of literature is to teach them how to write a paraphrase. A teacher should lead students to this activity. After reading a passage they should be asked to look away from the text for a while and then write the same material but in their own words, which means they are writing a paraphrase. What is good in this exercise? First of all, it enables a teacher to test whether students really understand the text, secondly, certain elements of the text become clearer. Third, students can check their paraphrase with those of others, their classmates’ versions, i.e. to compare their understanding of the passage with others. Finally, they have learned how literature is depended upon words. A paraphrase, no matter how precise, can render only an approximate equivalent of the meaning of the original text.

Paraphrasing, like copying, is not in itself and entirely satisfactory way of writing and speaking, but like copying it can be a useful tool when students speak and write about certain things in other ways. In trying to explain or clarify a literary text for someone, to illustrate a point they are making about that text, or to remind their classmates of or to acquaint them with a text or passage they will at times try to paraphrase. Unlike an exact copy, a paraphrase, being in their own words, adds something of theirs to the text or passage – their emphasis, their perspective, their understanding.

There is no doubt that with each grade the progress becomes visible. Hard-working students themselves come to feel it at the end of their bachelor and then master’s education stage, since they have to write their qualification paper and dissertation paper respectively.